


Spectral

by Owlship



Series: In the Middle of Our Street [4]
Category: Mad Max Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dad max, F/M, Fluff, Kid Fic, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Petshop AU, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-05-15 18:06:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14795364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Owlship/pseuds/Owlship
Summary: Dad Max: Demon Hunter Extraordinaire





	Spectral

**Author's Note:**

> Part of the [Petshop AU](https://archiveofourown.org/series/337576) and originally posted [on tumblr](http://v8roadworrier.tumblr.com/post/155995825666/dammit-noo-now-i-just-have-this-image-of-a-sleep)!

It should have been a quiet night in after a long day of work emergencies and trying customers, but being home isn't shaping up to be the sort of respite Max was hoping for.

First dinner had been overcooked to just this side of inedibility by a Toast eager to play around in the kitchen, then there had been an argument over what movie to watch that made Max want to just shut off the telly entirely and call it a night. They'd decided on some horror flick that he's only half paying attention to, which is how he manages to notice Dag and Cheedo sneaking into the living room past their bedtime to watch said scary movie that they are very much _not_ supposed to be watching. Max had missed enough of the movie shepherding them back upstairs and into bed, despite their protests that they're _fine_ watching people be fake-incinerated by demons, that when he returns he's lost the plot entirely and thinks seriously about just going to bed.

Except the movie ends up having an unexpected moment that make Furiosa go tense in a bad way, resulting in them carefully cuddling after getting Capable and Toast to bed until she feels like she can sleep. Thankfully the cuddling works to calm her down, but now Max's ex-cop senses are tingling and _he's_ on edge, so hearing little feet scampering around above his head at damn near one am is just too much.

"Girls," Max says when he opens their door after a perfunctory knock, voice gruff and tired, so fucking tired. "What."

Cheedo looks to Dag; Dag looks to Cheedo. Both of them ignore the hastily-scribbled design resting on the floor that they obviously tried to copy from the movie to keep the demon at bay.

He can't summon any more words, just grunts a little and looks at them flatly.

"There's a monster," Cheedo pipes up.

"A _demon_ ," Dag corrects. "Under the bed".

Max sighs. "Which?"

Cheedo glances at Dag again before saying, "Both. It moves between them."

He runs a hand over his face and thinks for a moment about just leaving it. They don't really seem _scared_ \- Dag looks downright eager, if he's honest. "Hm," he says instead, and tries to think of a way to do this quietly.

Max lowers himself on his creaky knees to look under Cheedo's bed; other than some dust and scattered junk it looks pretty much clear of monsters. He pretends to inspect it very hard, then moves to Dag's bed and does the same.

"It _moves_ ," Dag says as if he hadn't understood the first time.

"Hmm," he replies. "No demon tracks."

"It's there!" Cheedo immediately declares. "I saw it."

"Shh," Max says, "Demons like noise." Is it going to mess them up to play along rather than explain that there are no demons? He knows which route will get them back to sleep quicker... Fuck, he probably should have woken Furiosa up, she'd know better than him.

Cheedo slaps a hand over her mouth, eyes wide. Dag squints suspiciously at him.

"‘M gonna draw you spells," he says, grabbing for the ubiquitous paper and markers or crayons or whatever art supply it is they're using this week. "Leave 'em under your beds. Keeps the demons out."

That's how they dealt with it in the movie, he thinks. Some sort of magic mumbo-jumbo, though he's pretty sure their designs were painted in blood and/or fire. Whatever, these demons are gonna have to be satisfied with colored pencils on construction paper.

Max makes an attempt at drawing suitably arcane-looking symbols over the paper while both girls watch raptly, copying it as closely as he can to make the second.

"Too much noise ‘n they won't work," he says, trying to look as solemn as he can while he slips them into the space under each bed.

Cheedo nods as if she wholeheartedly believes what he's saying, while Dag has a scowl because she knows he's ruined her fun for the night.

"Now, bed," Max says, and neither likes their blankets being tucked in so he only gives Cheedo a kiss on her forehead and one on Dag's palm when she offers it, which is sort of a surprise considering he thought she'd be madder at him.

"Remember: quiet," he says, clicking off the lamp they'd had on. The dim blue lighting from the fishtank gives him just enough light to make his way to the door without tripping; he makes a vague mental note to have them clean their room. Tomorrow. Or whenever, he really doesn't care at this point.

"Goodnight girls," he whispers, getting two quiet "Night Max"s back before he clicks the door shut.

Max trudges down the stairs, a bit surprised he doesn't just fall down them, and of course wakes Furiosa up when he slides into bed.

"Your feet are cold," she says sleepily.

"Demon hunting," he offers.

She makes a knowing sort of noise and curls back up against him, apparently not offended enough by his cold feet to keep her distance. He drapes an arm over her and closes his eyes, hoping for sleep.

Somehow he's entirely unsurprised when he hears a loud-enough crash from somewhere in the vicinity of Toast's room just as he starts drifting off.

"Leave it," Furiosa mumbles. "They're dead in the morning or they're not."

Tired as he is, he accepts this logic easily.


End file.
